What Is MyLincoln Touch?

Think of Lincoln as Ford's classy aunt: a bit mysterious, always well dressed and with just a smidgen of approachable elegance. The same could be said for MyLincoln Touch, the automaker's truly elegant infotainment system.

Its foundation is the SYNC in-car connectivity system, which allows drivers to make hands-free calls, access media, find destinations and manage climate via voice-activated controls. It recognizes a whooping 10,000 commands, which means you won't spend a ton of time fumbling around with buttons.

Above the steering wheel, you'll find two 4.2-inch LCD screens with corresponding controls on either side of the wheel. The left side has vehicle information such as gauge, fuel economy, personalized settings and an information menu to run a full system check. The right side is the color-coded infotainment mecca -- the system's "four corners" of entertainment, navigation, phone and climate settings.

In the center console, an 8-in screen with touch-sensitive buttons with sliders for controlling volume and climate make for some sweet eye candy. No knobs or dials to fiddle with means less time with your hands away from the steering wheel.

With the optional voice-activated navigation feature, you can set a map view, a route or arrange your traffic preferences. Being able to avoid certain roads and turns makes for a much smoother ride in these vacation-packed days.

For those looking for a little relief from sweltering summer temperatures, the climate control feature is a gust of fresh air. You can select settings for the driver or passenger and take your pick from such offerings as fan speed, cooled seats and rear climate control (for those restless, swimsuit-clad kiddos you are caravanning to the local pool). You can even set up your own personal thermometer via MyTemp (no more too-hot or too-chilly road trips).

And because we all love to have our favorite features front and center, the home screen is fully customizable so you can program your shortcuts. Spruce up your ride with such options as the ambient lighting quick key -- a cool feature that lets you choose your fave color to illuminate your cup holder and footwells.

Below the touchscreen in the media deck, you'll find three RCA media jacks, an XD card slot and USB ports for your smartphone and iPod.

MyLincoln Touch is similar to MyFord Touch, with a few choice differences. Lincoln has the fancy sliders, whereas Ford has knobs. Lincoln colors are a bit more subdued and dramatic -- less bold than Ford colors.

But it still packs a dynamic, elegant punch -- just like your divinely chic, most favorite aunt.

Lindsay Martell
has covered entertainment news for E! Entertainment and tech trends for TechTV, CNBC, Newsfactor, and Sci-Tech Today, among others. She lives in Oakland, California.